Lesa Semmler

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in the Beaufort Delta was the first to be reviewed under the community counselling program, and so what they have done is they've done a collaboration where they pull the Indigenous governments and the community counselling program together to be able to serve people and hire people with lived experience to be able to provide those services. I know we are working with -- we are currently working in the Sahtu through that process as well, and we're hoping that we'll get through the rest of the territory, because it's designed on servicing the region, the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in order for a resident of the Northwest Territories to attend a treatment facility, they have to be referred by a caseworker, a caseworker who works with them. That caseworker also creates an aftercare plan for when they return home and then before they're discharged, they are to communicate with the -- that is part of the work that happens and, you know, and so I encourage that if residents are returning back to their community, to speak with the caseworker that has referred them out because that is part of it. And if the Member has, you know, residents...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I know that the patient experience questionnaire, somebody who's worked in the system for many, many years, that this happens every two to three years. So the questionnaire goes out, and it's through the quality program, and it goes out to anyone on their experience or current experience with the healthcare system. What it does is it comes back and then there's a report -- it is usually public. I think the last one was done in 2022. And what that report -- what it helps to do is work with those areas with the executive team and to work within those areas to...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this is a report from their internal division to their executive as they are through the authority. So this report is actually going to -- once they get it to the executive, the NTHSSA, then that's where they will define on where and what their implementation plan is. I haven't seen the implementation. I haven't seen what they're accepting and not accepting or what they're going to continue to work on or where they may need more information. That's usually how those types of plans come. I haven't seen it yet, so I can't speak to any of that yet. However...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, yes, I have read the report, and I have -- I actually met with Indigenous patient advocates before the report came out and which was -- we had a -- we spent almost half a day together, and we talked about their -- what they have in their job as tools and what they're hearing from and how can they move these things forward, and this was part of their way of moving forward some of the words of the residents in the Northwest Territories that are going through their system. And so I think it's a good report that it highlights everything that anybody in this...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there is waitlists, and within the callback or the online, it is active right now. And from my understanding, any time that there is a gap or an opening or a physician or any of the health providers, it is filled with those lists that they have currently. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as the Member has said, that the health authority has a history of doing that process but not being able to do it in a way where we need to ensure that it's done in the proper process, and that is what we are doing right now. We are ensuring that the proper process is being followed and that we are going to look at the correct amount of staff to staff -- to look at what the staffing needs is for the Stanton Territorial Hospital to support. As the Stanton Territorial Hospital supports the rest of the territory, we need to make sure that when we do go forward...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we encourage all residents in the Northwest Territories to call 8-1-1 for non-emergent questions on their health or their family's health, and we encourage all Northwest Territories residents to call 9-1-1 first before calling, you know, the health centre. Health centres are generally used when -- and that was -- but the thing is, is the change. The change management in small communities is this has been the model for so long and that's where they're so used to calling that they don't call 8-1-1 and they don't call 9-1-1; they call the health centre. And so...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I don't have the exact details of the overall wait times or anything. But what I do know is that the amount of staff that's allocated through our budgeting process is full, and they have been increasing the amount -- like, the amounts of referrals for blood work have been increasing and therefore there is work to be looking on -- you know, I mean, through our business process on this area as a prioritized area for access to care. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to the Member for this question. You know, I know that right now Fort Good Hope, the physician model is currently being under evaluation now. The pilot has been ongoing. And when I was into the community and I even met with the physician that was the lead on that, they are hopefully to have the review completed by April 2026, and that work is actually going to be helping us to form, you know, when we do our -- with our model of care for small communities. As I said, improving the model of care in our small communities is and always the priority. And so as...